


We Got Firecracker Wishes We Can Make (Rewrite)

by CrimsonAdri



Category: Ouran High School Host Club - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Fluff, High School, Humor, I don't know what else to tag, Jealousy, Limited Angst, Music, No Smut, Nothing nasty, OC is in a band, Only underage because they are under 18, POV Third Person, Romance, host club, like barely any, original male characters are the band memebers, original version still up, song lyrics included, this is a rewrite
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-18
Updated: 2018-08-18
Packaged: 2019-06-29 00:16:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,297
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15717996
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrimsonAdri/pseuds/CrimsonAdri
Summary: Kaede and Haruhi are neighbors and childhood besties who both gained scholarships to Ouran, Haruhi through academics and Kaede through music. Kyoya agrees to let Kaede play guitar during club hours to help Haruhi pay of her debt while promoting her band. (No definite pairing yet but it's between the three.)This is a rewrite of my story by the same name.‘We Got Firecracker Wishes We Can Make’ is from Gerard Way – “Action Cat”





	1. Chapter 1

[Song Kaede Plays](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51gPkroWKnY)

* * *

 

“Seriously? That was the fourth library we’ve checked,” Kaede groaned as she and Haruhi closed the door to the library that was, like the last three that they had found, bustling with loud students. “Aren’t libraries supposed to be silent?” she asked exasperated. Haruhi sighed and pushed her glasses up on her face.

“Guess we have to find someplace else,” she said.

“They have to have at least _one_ room that’s empty, I mean this place is freaking ginormous,” Kaede exclaimed as she threw her arms out before letting them fall back down against her sides. She blew a strand of her deep dark blue dyed hair out of her face. “At this point _I’d_ probably take a closet.”

“You don’t have to help me find a place; I know you want to go play,” Haruhi said gesturing to the guitar case that Kaede was carrying on her back.

“Hey, I can always play later; you’re the one who’s here on the _academic_ scholarship.”

“Yes, but don’t you have that gig at the end of the month?”

“Yeah, but I don’t need to practice that much during school,” Kaede admitted, waving her had dismissively. “You gotta study hard so you can become a lawyer and make a lot of money and get a big house so you can let me crash on your couch.” Kaede nudged Haruhi’s side with her elbow and the two laughed.

“Oh I’m sure you’ll be on a tour bus and on the big stage by then,” Haruhi teased with a smile. Kaede rolled her eyes with a chuckle. The two started to head up the stairs.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to buy you the uniform?” Kaede asked looking over at Haruhi.

“No, you should save your money; I mean you’re living by yourself, supporting yourself. And to be honest all _you_ could afford was the blazer from the male uniform,” she pointed out bluntly.

“Only because I _refuse_ to wear that yellow monstrosity,” Kaede countered. “Plus even you have to admit this looks better.” She motioned to her outfit; the male uniform’s blue blazer over a black blouse with a short black and blue plaid skirt, knee-high black socks and black boots.

“You’re right, that is better,” Haruhi admitted with a nod. “But you look good either way,” she added with a shrug.

“Aw thanks Haru,” Kaede gushed, giving Haruhi a one armed side hug as they walked down the hallway.

“I still can’t believe they let you keep those in though,” Haruhi said pointing to the studs in Kaede’s earlobes and the rings that lined the shell of her left ear.

“Oh they didn’t. My hair covers them though,” Kaede confessed, pushing her long blue hair over her ears. Haruhi chuckled and rolled her eyes.  Kaede ruffled Haruhi’s hair. “Ya know, you really should have let me give you a haircut.” Kaede started messing with Haruhi’s hair. “I mean it’s not even and-“ Haruhi swatted her hand away.

“I don’t care what my hair looks like,” she reminded the other girl.

“ _I know_ ,” Kaede said. Haruhi swatted Kaede’s shoulder making her laugh. The two stopped walking outside a music room.

“An abandoned music room.”

“Well that’s ironic, since we’re looking for a place for you not me.”

“I guess this is the only place I'll be able to study in peace and quiet,” Haruhi figured before opening the door.

“Welcome!” Haruhi and Kaede blinked as rose petals blew towards them. They looked at the six students in the room. There was a rather tall boy with black hair, who loomed over the others, another black haired boy with glasses, a pair of twins, a short blond boy and another taller blond with violet-blue eyes.

 “Oh wow, it's a boy,” the twins said in unison, Kaede was a bit behind the door and out of their sight still.

“Hikaru, Kaoru, I believe this young man is in the same class as you, isn't he?” the boy with the glasses asked.

 _Young man? Is he talking about Haruhi? I know the kid isn’t exactly wearing feminine clothes but still,_ Kaede thought.

“Yeah, but he's shy. He doesn't act very sociably, so we don't know much about him,” the twins admitted.

“Hm, well that wasn't very polite. Welcome to the Ouran host club, Mr. honor student.” His gaze shifted from Haruhi to Kaede who had come into view. “Kaede Tsukino. Here on a musical scholarship I believe,” he mused.

“What?” the blond asked. “Then _you_ must be Haruhi Fujioka. You're the exceptional honor student we've heard about.”

“What and _I’m_ not exceptional?” Kaede asked putting one hand on her hip as she leaned on her guitar case which was now vertically standing beside her.

“Of course you are Princess,” the blond said holding out a rose.

 _The hell is with this guy?_  Kaede thought as she raised an eyebrow at the flower.

 “How did you know our names?” Haruhi asked as she turned around from trying to open the door. The blond looked crestfallen that Kaede was ignoring him.

“Why, you're _both_ infamous,” the boy with glasses said looking at Kaede. “It's not every day that two commoners gain entrance into our academy. You must have an audacious nerve to work hard enough to fight your way into this school as an honor student, Mr. Fujioka.”

“Well ah- thank you. I guess.”

“And you must be a very dedicated musician, Miss Tsukino.”

“Thanks,” she said, not knowing whether to smile or not. The boy with glasses opened his mouth to speak but the blond spoke before he could.

“You're welcome!” the blond exclaimed putting a hand on Haruhi’s shoulder. “You are heroes to other poor people. You've shown the world that even a poor person can excel at an elite private academy.” Haruhi moved away from him but the blond followed. “It must be hard for you to constantly be looked down upon by others.”

“I think you're taking this poor thing too far,” Haruhi said. The blond continued dramatically anyways.

“Spurned, neglected. But that doesn't matter now. Long live the poor! We welcome you, poor man, to our world of beauty!” he exclaimed over dramatically.

“I'm outta here,” Haruhi said going for the door.

“Hey! Come back here, Haru-chan!” the little blond boy, who looked to be in grade school, said as he tugged on Haruhi’s arm and pulled her back. “You must be like a super hero or something. That's so cool!”

“I'm not a hero. I'm an honor student. And who are you calling Haru-chan?!” she yelled. Kaede started chuckling under her breath.

“I never would have imagined the famous scholar would be so openly gay,” the tall blond said. Kaede had to put a hand over her mouth to stifle her laughter.

“Openly what?” Haruhi asked looking back at her taller friend.

“So tell me what kind of guys you're into, “ the blond started. “Do you like the strong silent type? The boy lolita? How about the mischievous type? Or the cool type?” Kaede leaned her guitar case against the wall and leaned against the door, watching in amusement.

“I uh... I-It's not like that. I was just looking for a quiet place to study,” Haruhi explained backing up.

“Or maybe you're into a guy like me,” The blond suggested, putting his fingers under her chin. “What do you say?” he asked with his face close to hers. Kaede started laughing but Haruhi jumped back away from the blond and ended up knocking over a vase. She tried to catch it but it shattered on the floor. Kaede would have caught it but she wasn’t close enough to get to it in time. She had still _tried_ to reach it however, resulting in her landing on a shard and cutting her hand slightly.

“Awww,” the twins whined as they looked over Haruhi’s shoulder at what was left of the vase.  

“We were going to feature that Renaissance vase in an upcoming school auction,” one of them started.

“Oh now you've done it, commoner. The bidding on that vase was supposed to start at 8 million yen” the other finished. Haruhi started to freak out.

 “What, 8 million yen? How many thousand yen is that?” She tried counting on her fingers. “How many thousands are in 8 million? I'm gonna have to pay you back.”

“With what money?” the twins asked.  “You can't even afford the school uniform.”

“What's with that grubby outfit you've got on anyway?” one of the twins asked.

“And why do _you_ only have the male blazer?” the other asked Kaede as she stood up and put her hand behind her back.

“You won’t catch me dead in that yellow absurdity,” Kaede told him. The boy with the glasses picked up a piece of the vase.

“Well, what do you think we should do, Tamaki?” he asked the blond.

“There's a famous saying you may have heard, Fujioka. When in Rome, you should do as the Romans do. Since you have no money, you can pay with your body. That means, starting today, you are the host club's dog.” Haruhi froze. Tamaki waved his hand in front of her face, the twins leaned in and the smaller blond poked her.

“Poke poke?” Haruhi fell over.

“Hey, it wasn’t Haruhi’s fault that they jumped back into the vase. Besides why was it just randomly there in the middle of the room? Someone was bound to walk into it at some point,” Kaede pointed out crossing her arms. Tamaki opened his mouth but stopped.

“Why _was_ it there?” he asked with a small frown as he looked back at the others.

“So our guests could see it,” the boy with the glasses explained.

“I’m sure they could’ve seen it just fine against a wall. You could’ve put it over there so they could see it when they left,” she said pointing to the wall beside the door. The boy didn’t say anything. Kaede rolled her eyes and helped her friend up.

“We meet after school on most days, so make sure he’s here,” Tamaki told her. “You’re welcome to stay as well, Princess.”

“Who are you calling Princess?” Kaede asked raising an eyebrow. “Besides, I can’t, I have band practice after school.”

“You’re in band?” Tamaki asked a twinkle of curious in his eyes.

“I’m in _a_ band,” Kaede clarified. She helped Haruhi sit on a couch before walking to get her guitar case. “What, did you think this was my book bag?” Tamaki pouted slightly. “I’ll come by later to pick you up, kay, Haru?” Haruhi gave her a pleading look. Kaede hesitated before looking at her watch. “Though, I guess, they can practice without me for a little while.”

“Oh wonderful!” Tamaki exclaimed excitedly. The tall boy suddenly stepped in front of Kaede causing her to look up at him curiously.

“Your hand,” he said in a deep voice.

“Huh?” He reached down and took her hand, turning it to show her cut.

“You’re bleeding!” Tamaki shouted. “Quick get some bandages!” He started freaking out. “Where’s the first aid kit?!”

“Relax, I’m fine, it’s just a little cut,” Kaede said and went to pull her hand out of the boy’s but he held it tighter so she couldn’t. She looked up and met his eyes.

“Here you go,” Kyoya said holding out a first aid kit. Kaede sighed and let the tall boy clean up the cut before putting a band aid on it.

* * *

The hosts, well Tamaki, had sent Haruhi out to pick up some things from the store so Kaede was sitting on an empty couch, away from everyone, tuning her guitar.

“Do you play?” a girl asked. Kaede looked up to see a first year standing in front of her.

“I wouldn’t have it otherwise,” Kaede said, she hadn’t said it in a rude way but as if stating a simple fact.

“That’s so cool,” the girl gushed. “It’s a beautiful guitar.” The girl sat down.

“It’s my baby,” Kaede agreed patting it gently. “It’s actually really old; I just take really good care of it.”

“Could you play something?” the girl asked with a small smile.

“Uh…” Kaede looked over to see Kyoya, as she learned his name to be, wasn’t looking in her direction. She shrugged. “Sure why not?” The girl looked excited. “Any requests?”

“Hmm.” The girl looked to be thinking a moment before she shook her head.

“That’s alright, I’ll just play something.” She thought for a second them smiled and started to play with her fingers instead of a pick. She played a few notes before she started tapping her foot to a beat and closed her eyes and started to play _Sugar by Maroon 5_. Some of the guests smiled as they heard the song and some turned to watch. Either they recognized it or they just thought it sounded nice. Kaede didn’t sing the words as she felt it would be out of place. She let the melody alone fill the room. The girl next to Kaede watched her fingers in amazement with a smile on her face. The twins exchanged looks and Kyoya took notice of how the guests seemed to be enjoying the music. Tamaki looked away from his guests to watch Kaede, making a certain red head frown. Kyoya smirked to himself.

“May I have a word with you, Tamaki?” Ayanokoji asked. Tamaki looked back at her. “I've recently heard the host club's keeping a little kitten without a pedigree.”

“I don't know if I'd call him that,” Tamaki said. Just then Haruhi came into the room with a large brown paper bag.  “Speak of the devil. Thanks for doing the shopping, little piglet. Did you get everything on our list?”

“What? Piglet?” Haruhi asked quietly.

 “Hey, wait a minute. What is this?” Tamaki asked Haruhi as he held a container of instant coffee.

“Just what it looks like,” Haruhi said. “It's coffee.”

“I've never seen this brand before. Is this the kind that's already ground?”

“What do you mean? It's instant coffee,” Haruhi said as if it were obvious.

“It's instant?” The two girls on the couch across from Tamaki asked, leaning to one side.

“Wow, I've heard of this before,” Tamaki gasped. “It's commoners' coffee. You just add hot water.”

“I didn't know there was such a thing,” a girl said. There suddenly more girls around them.

“So, it's true then, poor people don't even have enough free time to grind their own coffee beans.” Another said. The girls all hummed and nodded.

“Commoners are pretty smart,” Kyoya admitted looking over Tamaki’s shoulder. Hikaru and Kaoru leaned on the couch.

“100 grams for 300 yen?” Hikaru asked.

“That's a lot less than we normally pay,” Kaoru pointed out.

“I'll go back and get something else,” Haruhi said. “Excuse me for not buying you guys expensive coffee.”

“No, I'll keep it,” Tamaki decided, raising a hand. Everyone gasped. He stood. “I'm going to give it a try.” Everyone seemed even more shocked. “I will drink this coffee!” Tamaki exclaimed over dramatically as he held the container up. Everyone started clapping.  Kaede suddenly looked up and stopped playing, causing some of the guests to ‘awe’.  Kaede blinked in surprise.

“Uh sorry girls,” she apologized with a sheepish smile. Kaede got up and put her guitar away.

“Thank you for playing,” the girl said as she stood from the couch as well.

“No problem,” Kaede replied with a friendly smile. “Why don’t you go sit with one of the host?”

“Okay,” The girl agreed with a smile before walking away.

“All right, Haruhi, get over here and make some of this commoners' coffee,” Tamaki ordered pleasantly.

“Oh Tamaki, now you're taking the joke too far,” Ayanokoji  said. “Your palate won't be able to stomach that crap. You don't have to drink it just because he bought it.” Haruhi looked down at her.

“Huh?”

“I'm sorry. I was talking to myself,” the girl said looking up at her with a fake smile.

“Uhh…”

“Haruhi,” Tamaki called.

“I'm coming,” Haruhi answered.

**…**

Haruhi made four cups of the instant coffee.

“Here.”

“Let the tasting begin,” Tamaki announced giving four girls the cups.

“Thought he said he was gunna be drinking it,” Kaede muttered.

“I'm a little scared to drink this stuff,” one girl admitted.

“I'm afraid if I drink this, my father will yell at me,” another said.

“What if I let you drink it from my mouth?” Tamaki asked her while cupping her face.

“ _Oh well then_ , I would drink it,” she said in a daze. Kaede shook her head with a sigh.

**…**

“So he had this nightmare that made him bolt up, right out of bed,” Hikaru told his guests with a laugh.

“ _Hikaru_ , don't tell them that story,” Kaoru whined before looking like he was going to cry. “I asked you not to tell anyone that. Why are you so mean to me?” he asked as a tear fell.

“I'm sorry, Kaoru,” Hikaru apologized, looking shocked. He held his twin’s face and brought their faces closer.  “I didn't mean to upset you. But you were so adorable when it happened that I had to tell them. I'm sorry.”

“I forgive you.”

“I've never seen brotherly love quite like that,” the girls at their table gushed.

“What are they so excited about?” Haruhi asked as she walked by with a tray. “I just don't get it.”

**…**

“Sorry, we're running late,” Honey apologized with a yawn as he and Mori came over, the smaller boy being carried on the other’s back.

“Hello, Honey! Hey Mori!” a girl greeted them.

“We've been waiting here for you guys, hi!” another called.  Mori put Honey down.

“I'm sorry,” Honey said. “I was waiting for Takashi to finish his Kendo meeting and I fell asleep. And I'm still not completely awake.” He rubbed his eyes.

“So cute!”

“Is that boy really a third year student?” Haruhi asked.

“Can’t be,” Kaede muttered with a frown.

“Honey- senpai may seem young and childish, but he's a prodigy,” Kyoya explained. “And then Mori- senpai's allure is his strong and silent disposition.”

“Haru-chan! Tsuki-chan!” Honey exclaimed running up to the trio. He grabbed onto Haruhi’s arm and they spun around. “Hey Haru-chan, Tsuki-chan, do you wanna go have some cake with me?”

“Thanks, but I don't really like cake,” Haruhi said, wobbling on her feet.

“Then, how would you like to hold my bunny, Usa-chan?”

“I'm not into bunnies.”

“Are you saying you don't like Usa-chan?” Honey asked looking like he was going to cry as he held up Usa-chan. Haruhi looked down at it.

“I guess he is kinda cute, huh?” Honey looked shocked momentarily but then smiled and handed Haruhi the bunny.

“Take good care of him, okay?” he shouted before running off.

“You'll notice that our club utilizes each man's unique characteristics to cater to the desires of our guests,” Kyoya explained. “Just so you know, Tamaki is number one around here. He is the king. His request rate is 70%.”

“What's this world coming to?” Haruhi asked.

“And in order for you to pay off your 8 million yen debt with us, you will act as the Ouran host club's dog until you graduate,” Kyoya said. He chuckled.  “I'm sorry, I meant our errand boy. You can try to run away if you want to, Haruhi, but just so you know, my family employs a private police force of 100 officers. By the way, do you have a passport?”

“You're going to have to work hard to pay off that debt, my little nerd,” Tamaki teased, before blowing onto Haruhi’s neck making her freak out and jumped away, her hand flying to her neck.

“Please don't do that again,” she requested.

“You need a makeover, or no girl's going to look twice at you,” Tamaki observed.

“Yeah, well, I'm not trying to get girls to look at me,” Haruhi countered.

“Are you kidding me? That's the most important thing. You have to learn to be a gentleman and please the ladies like me,” Tamaki said holding out a rose to Kaede who was looking un-amused.

“Stop that,” she muttered.

“I just don't think it's all that important.” Tamaki looked to Haruhi, shocked. “Why should I care about appearances and labels anyway? I mean, all that really matters is what's on the inside, right? I don't understand why you even have a host club like this.”

“It's a cruel reality, isn't it?” Tamaki sighed. Haruhi gave him a side glare. “It's not often that god creates a perfect person like Moi! Beautiful both inside and out.”

“Say what?” Haruhi asked.

“I understand how you feel since not everyone is as blessed as I am, but you must console yourself, otherwise how would you go on living? And think about this, Haruhi. Why do you think they put works of art in museums? Because beauty should be shared with the world. And those born beautiful should promote other beautiful things. That's why I started this club in the first place. I did it for those who are starved for beauty. For those working day and night, pursing beauty.”

“Please tell me I can hit him,” Kaede muttered, looking up at Kyoya.

“I would have to ask you to refrain from such violence,” he told her.

“Damn,” Kaede muttered as Tamaki went on.

“I've chosen to share my expertise with you. Here's a tip. When setting down your glass, extend your pinky finger as a cushion,” he advised as he put a glass down on a table.  “And that way, when you set it down, you won't be making a lot of noise. Gentlemen do not make uncouth sounds. Besides ...”

“How do you put up with this every day?” Kaede asked glancing back at Kyoya who was writing something down.

“I’ve simply gotten used to it,” he explained with a small smirk.

“... But above all else, Haruhi, you must remember...” Tamaki walked over to her. “...how effective a glance to this side can be,” he said doing just that.

“Huh, I got it,” Haruhi suddenly said hitting her fist down into her open palm.

“Oh, did I strike a chord?”

“Obnoxious.” Tamaki flinched before going to sulk. “Uh I'm sorry, Tamaki senpai.” The twins came over, laughing, putting their elbows on Haruhi’s head.

“You're a hero, all right,” Hikaru said.

“I'm sorry, senpai,” Haruhi repeated. “But your lesson did strike a small chord with me.”

“Really? It did?” Tamaki asked, standing up, suddenly better. “Let me teach you more, my friend.”

“Boss,” Kaoru said.

“Call me king,” Tamaki said wiggling his fingers of his outstretched hand.

“You can teach him all the basics of hosting,” Kaoru said.

“But he's not going to get very far with the ladies if he doesn't look the part, you know,” Hikaru pointed out. “He's not exactly host club material, but maybe if we took off his glasses, it'd help,” he suggested taking them off. He looked shocked.

“Hey, I need those,” Haruhi said with her hands up. Both twins stared at her and the other hosts looked over as well. “I used to have contacts, but I lost them on the first day of school.” Tamaki ran up and pushed the twins out of the way. He snapped his fingers.

“Hikaru, Kaoru,” he started.

“Got it,” they said as they saluted, already knowing what he wanted them to do. They each grabbed one of Haruhi’s wrists before dragging her off to the back room.  Kaede blinked in shock.

“Kyoya, my hair stylist,” Tamaki said. Kyoya already had his cell phone out and proceeded to call. “Mori senpai, go to the eye doctor and get him some contact lenses.” Mori ran for the door.

“What about me, Tama-chan?” Honey asked looking excited.

“Honey senpai.”

“Yes sir.”

“You, go have some cake.” The boy proceeded to sadly grab a piece of cake and move to the back room. Kaede followed and found him sitting at a small table with Usa-chan.

“It's just us, Usa-chan. Everyone else said they were too busy,” he whined.

“Mind if I have some cake with you, Honey-senpai?” Kaede asked with a smile. Honey smiled widened.

“Of course, Kae-chan!” Kaede chuckled and pulled up a chair. Hikaru and Kaoru came up to them and each put a hand on the back of Kaede’s chair.

“You two done already?” she mumbled with a slight frown. They ignored her comment.

“So Kaede…” Kaoru started.

“…why didn’t you request someone?” Hikaru asked.

“Because I’m not here for the host club, I’m here for Haru,” she explained before taking a bite of cake.

“That’s no fun,” they complained.

“All you did was sit around messing with your guitar,” Hikaru said.

“I happen to like my guitar, and I was not messing with it.”

“That song _was_ pretty though,” Kaoru admitted. “The girls sitting with _us_ seemed to enjoy it.”

“Song?” Honey asked tilting his head. “Can I hear?” he asked with a big smile.

“Maybe later, Honey-senpai,” Kaede said with a small smile.

“Okay!” Honey cheered excitedly. 

* * *

“Um, senpai?” Haruhi asked. Everyone was outside the dressing stall Haruhi was in. Honey sat at the small table with a stack of empty cake plates in front of him while Kaede had one plate in front of her. Mori stood between the two and the rest of the hosts were on the other side of the table.

“Aren't you done changing yet?” Tamaki asked.

“You sure it's really okay for me to keep this uniform?” Haruhi asked as she pushed the curtain aside.

“Cute!” Tamaki gushed.  “You're as pretty as a girl. Adorable!”

“Haru-chan, you look so cute!” Honey agreed.

“If we had known that's how you really look...” Hikaru started.

“...we would have helped you out sooner.” Kaoru finished.

“Who knows, maybe he'll draw in some customers,” Kyoya mused.

“You know, that's just what I was thinking,” Tamaki said. The twins and Kaede all gave him a ‘yeah right’ look. “Our errand boy is moving up the ranks.” He pointed at Haruhi. “Starting today, you are an official member of the host club. I will personally train you to be a first-rate host. If you can get 100 customers to request your service, we will completely forget about your 8 million yen debt.”

“A host?” she squeaked. Kaede stood up.

“Well, have fun Haru, I’m gunna get going.” Haruhi gave her a pleading look. “I can’t stay any longer, I’m sorry; I should’ve been at practice a long time ago,” she confessed looking down at her watch.

“You’ll come again tomorrow won’t you?” Honey asked. Kaede looked down at him. “I didn’t get to hear you play.”

“Uh well…” she rubbed the back of her neck.

“Miss Tsukino,” Kyoya said.

“Yeah?” Kaede asked shifting her gaze to him.

“How would you like to work here?”

“Work here?” she asked with a small scoff.

“Yes. You take musical requests and in exchange for every ten requests you get we subtract one from Haruhi’s quota.” Now Haruhi was giving Kaede puppy dog eyes. Tamaki now looked excited too.

“Ten for one? Really?” Kaede asked as she crossed her arms. Kyoya pushed up his glasses.

“Alright, then how about we also promote your band,” he offered. Kaede’s eyebrows went up and she lowered her arms.

“Really? You’d do that, just to have me play here?”

“The guests seemed to really enjoy it when you played. It’s sure to bring in more customers.” Kaede bit her lip. Club hours had already cut into band practice, she wasn’t sure if they’d be happy if it happened every day, but if she told them it was to help promote the band maybe they’d be okay with it.

“I’ll have to talk to my band first; I’ve already missed most of our practice for today.” Kyoya nodded.

“Very well.”

“But I really do have to go now, sorry Haru.” Haruhi nodded sadly.

“See you tomorrow, Princess,” Tamaki said holding out a rose. Kaede ignored it, walking past him, and he went to sulk.

“See ya, Haru.”

“Bye, Kae.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not many noticeable changes from the original version yet, I added a bit of dialogue and such. If you notice any mistakes let me know, I try to read each chapter twice before posting but sometimes I miss things.


	2. Chapter 2

Kaede walked with her guitar case strapped to her back as she carried her school bag. She had taken a bus to get to the neighborhood. Kaede turned a corner and headed to a small house with a side garage. She entered a code for the garage and the door slowly rose with a loud clanging sound. As soon as it was high enough she ducked under. She stood up and was met with blue eyes only a few inches in front of her.

“Oi! Kae, you’re late!” Kaede jerked back from the red-head in her face. The boy, Sora, leaned back with his arms crossed and pouted childishly. “What took you so long?” he whined.

“Sorry guys,” Kaede said as she scratched the back of her head and looked around the garage at the other two boys. Akira walked over from his spot leaning against the wall. He was the same height as Sora – even though Sora’s spiky red hair made him look like he was a few inches taller – with brown hair and green eyes.

“What happened?” Akira asked putting his hands on his hips. “We were starting to get worried. Though puff ball here was worried when you didn’t show up after five minutes,” Akira said looking at Sora who pouted more and tried to hold his hair down. The third boy, Ren, stood up from his spot behind the drum set. He walked up behind the other two making them look tiny in comparison.

“Don’t act like you weren’t pacing around the whole time,” he said in a deep voice as he flicked the back of Akira’s head. Akira put his hands on his head and frowned up at the older boy. Ren turned his gaze to Kaede. “Where were you?”

“I was at school with Haru; she had to stay after cause she got roped into joining a club.”

“What club?” Sora asked curiously. Kaede hesitated.

 _I can’t exactly tell them Haruhi was forced to join a_ host _club_ , Kaede thought.

“Just a club with a bunch of weird guys who entertain other students,” Kaede said nonchalantly as she waved a hand dismissively.

“A bunch of guys?” Akira asked with a frown.

“Entertain?” Ren asked. Sora blinked and looked between the other two boys.

“Uh… weird?” he asked not knowing what else there was to ask.

“Uh speaking of that club though…” Kaede said as she walked around the boys. “they want me to play guitar for them and they offered to promote the band,” she said, ignoring their questions, with a smile.

“What do they do exactly?” Akira asked as the three turned to face her. Kaede sighed.

“Look they’re just a bunch of… _interesting_ guys that pretty much spend club hours entertaining girls by talking to them.” The three gave her weird looks.

“Talking to them? What kind of club is that?” Sora asked.

“Can we forget what kind of club it is for a second and get to the part where we discuss me playing for them.”

“Why do they need you to play for them?” Akira asked.

“Their vice-president said it would make more people come to their club.”

“This club is every day after school, right?” Akira asked crossing his arms.

“Uh…Yeah.”

“We practice every day after school. Or did you forget?” Ren asked.

“Guys they’re offering to promote the band,” she reminded them.

“Oh yay,” Akira deadpanned.

“I can always leave halfway through to come here,” Kaede suggested.

“But then we have less time to practice,” Sora whined.

“How about we practice more on weekends then?” Kaede looked at Akira. “I know you and Ren have part-time jobs but after that we’d have the rest of the day.”

“Why are you so keen on playing for those rich pricks?” Akira grumbled. Kaede gave him a half glare.

“You don’t even know them yet.”

“Then we should meet them,” Akira suggested with smirk. Kaede rolled her eyes.

“Okay listen, I’m doing it to help Haruhi.”

“It’s her fault if she joined the club, you shouldn’t have to help her,” Akira said with a frown. Kaede put a hand on her forehead and sighed.

“Okay sit down, this might take a while,” she said.

**...**

Kaede explained Haruhi’s situation about knocking over the vase, her debt and becoming suddenly a host. She also had to explain the host club and how they thought Haruhi was a boy. When asked why she didn’t tell them otherwise Kaede said that it was up to Haruhi whether or not they were corrected, it wasn’t Kaede’s place to say anything. Akira and Ren didn’t like the idea of Kaede working for boys who ran a host club but she managed to convince them to let her in order to help Haruhi who was also one of their friends.

They compromised that they would limit practice to two week-days and the weekend. When Kaede went to school the next day and saw Kyoya he agreed to let Kaede leave early two days out of the week unless they had club meetings.

* * *

Kaede sat on a couch playing [_The Heart Wants What it Wants_ by _Selena Gomez_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noibT5VkKGo) while humming the words. Two girls sat on either side of her as she played, swaying to the music. On the end table next to the couch was a pad and pen for guests to write down request for Kaede to play next and she would check off the ones she played once the song was finished. Next to that was a stack of posters/flyers Kyoya had made up for the bands next gig at the end of the month. It didn’t have a picture of the band but told time and date with decorative pictures and fonts.

Suddenly there was a crash and Ayanokoji screamed causing Kaede to abruptly stop playing and everyone to look over to see Ayanokoji on the ground with Haruhi, looking quite shocked, on her hands and knees over the girl.

“No, Haruhi, leave me alone! Somebody, help! He just attacked me! Someone, do something! Teach this commoner a lesson!” Suddenly the twins poured pitchers of water over the two. “Why did you do that?” Ayanokoji asked. Tamaki came over and helped her up. “Do something, Tamaki. Haruhi just assaulted me.”

“I'm disappointed in you,” Tamaki said. “You threw his bag into the pond, didn't you?”

“You don't know that. Do you have any proof that I did?” Ayanokoji asked, getting defensive.

“You know, you're a beautiful girl,” Tamaki said cupping her chin. “But you aren't classy enough to be our guest, dear. If there's one thing I know, Haruhi is not that kind of a man.”

“But why, Tamaki?” Ayanokoji asked before she started to run away crying. “You idiot!” Tamaki turned to Haruhi who sat on the ground.

“Hmm, now how am I going to punish you? Because it is your fault after all,” Tamaki pointed out. “Your quota is now one thousand!” he shouted pointing at her. Kaede grimaced. “Come on.” Tamaki held out his hand. “I've got high expectations for you, my little rookie,” Tamaki said helping Haruhi up.

“This is the only spare uniform we have,” Kyoya said holding out a bag to Haruhi. “Sorry, but it's better than a wet one, right?”

“Thanks a lot, you guys. I'm gonna go change,” Haruhi said before walking to the changing rooms.

* * *

“Haruhi, here you go. I brought you some towels.” Tamaki pulled back the curtain and froze seeing Haruhi in a tank top. He let the curtain fall back. “Haruhi,” he started.

“Yeah?”

“So, you're a girl?” he asked. 

“Biologically speaking, yeah.” Haruhi pulled back the curtain now dressed in the girl’s uniform.  Tamaki freaked out. “Listen, senpai, I don't really care whether you guys recognize me as a boy or a girl,” she said. “In my opinion, it's more important for a person to be recognized for who they are rather than for what sex they are.”

“Well, isn't this an interesting development,” Kyoya mused as he and the other hosts, and Kaede, appeared behind Tamaki.

“Oh, yeah,” Hikaru and Kaoru said.

“Uh, you know, I have to say, senpai. I thought you were pretty cool earlier,” Haruhi admitted. Suddenly Tamaki’s whole face turned red. Kaede couldn’t help but burst out laughing, she put a hand over her mouth to muffle it.

“Now I could be wrong, but I think we may be witnessing the beginnings of love here,” Kyoya said looking back at Kaede who rolled her eyes.

“Being a host and getting fussed over by a bunch of girls might not be that bad.” Tamaki looked shocked. “I wonder how I could pull it off. I've got it. I'll just call everyone dude and bro now,” she said before laughing.

“I can’t believe it took you _this_ long to realize she was a girl,” Kaede said to Tamaki as her laughter finally died down.

“Why didn’t you say anything?!” Tamaki squeaked at her.

“It wasn’t up to me,” Kaede explained with a shrug. Tamaki fell to the ground causing Kaede to start laughing again.

“I mean seriously though, _they all_ figured it out,” Kaede said gesturing to the other hosts. Tamaki looked up at them from the floor.

“Why did none of you tell me?” he whimpered.

“Honestly?” the twins asked.

“We wanted to see how long it would take you,” Kaoru said.

“Our money was on sometime next month,” Hikaru said.

“We predicted next week!” Honey said happily while Mori nodded. Tamaki looked crestfallen and looked up at Kyoya.

“Never,” he said with a shrug. Tamaki’s face hit the ground.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I added in the little scene at the end cause I thought it would be funny if the hosts had made bets on when Tamaki would find out Haruhi was a girl. Cause I think they all figured it out within two-3 days right? But it was a lot longer with Tamaki.

**Author's Note:**

> Reminder, this is a rewrite.


End file.
